Syriac

The term was changed from Syrian to Syriac in referring to the (Syrian Christian) people and language so as to avoid confusion with belonging to the country of Syria. For information on Syrian nationals see the Demographics of Syria.

Syriac(s) or Syrian(s) may refer to:

People, self-appelations for:

• Assyrian people
• Members of the Syriac Orthodox/Catholic Church. Some refer to themselves as Assyrians or Arameans.
• Chaldeans who belong to the Chaldean Catholic Church
• Maronites, Lebanese Roman-Catholic Uniate Christians
• Melkites, Lebanese Greek-Catholic Uniate Christians
• Syriac Christians, a blanket term applied to all the aforesaid peoples

It may also apply to Aramaic-speaking Christians of other denominations.

Aramaic Languages:

• Syriac language, used in the liturgy of the Syrian churches, written in the Syriac alphabet
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, spoken in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey
• Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, spoken in Iraq and Iran
• Turoyo, spoken in Tur Abdin, Turkey and Syria
• other Neo-Aramaic languages

The language(s) may also be spoken in the diaspora.